“This is a great moment, when you see, however, distant, the goal of your wondering. The thing which has been living in your imagination suddenly becomes a part of the tangible world.” Freya Stark
Let’s assume for a minute that you have successfully completed that really big change. Perhaps it was personal, perhaps organizational. It may have taken months, years, or more. Let out a sigh. As I wrote about last week, celebrate! Really celebrate!
But what else is important at the end of the change journey? Here are a few things I have learned along the way.
Wake up to your surroundings, and to what you have accomplished.
Remember why you set out on the change. What motivated you; what you were seeking; what you hoped to achieve.
Be in awe. Once this was a dream, a vision, an intention. It was not tangible, not real. You brought it to life. Take time to focus your thoughts, to cherish where you are, and to honor yourself for the journey you have made. Down the road it will most likely become routine…Don’t let that begin here, now.
Be present. Open each and all of your senses to it.
Reflect on the differences from “back then” until “now.” Reflect also, on the lessons the journey has given you. If you haven’t already, record them. Keep them where you can reference them down the line; they may help to better prepare you for your next big change.
Consider the new perspectives and the new insights the journey has given you. Perhaps it has shifted your priorities, or who and what you value, or even more fundamentally how you want to live your life going forward. Wow! That is one amazing powerful journey!
Know that you–and the others who made the journey with you–have invested deeply to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
Follow the counsel of Joseph Campbell. In Myths to Live By he wrote, “The ultimate aim of the quest, if one is to return, must be neither release nor ecstasy for oneself, but the wisdom and the power to serve others.” How will you use this journey–the wisdom and power that it gave to you–to serve others?
Whether you have sown the seed or others have, know that another change journey awaits you. Perhaps it will be a series of minor shifts as you attune the new reality. Perhaps small adjustments as the world outside the new reality continues to change. And, in this turbulent and dynamic world of ours, the time will come to set out again on another major journey, whether it be personal or organizational. Until then, cherish your time on this plateau. Live your new reality. Live it fully. Live it deeply. Stay awake to it as long as you can.
What do you do upon completion of your change journeys? Is it different when the journey is organizational than when it is professional? Comment below.